India Against Corruption: Hazare & Team Anna to end fast; decide to take political plunge

NEW DELHI: Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare on Thursday announced that his group was ready to provide a political alternative, a U-turn that came after it appeared that the campaign for an effective anti-graft law was petering out. Hazare said he and his associates would give up their protest fast at 5 pm on Friday. While three of his associates, including social activist Arvind Kejriwal, have been fasting since July 25, Hazare joined them on July 28.

The announcement followed a written appeal from a group of prominent citizens - including Justice VR Krishna Iyer, Justice Santosh Hegde and former Army chief General VK Singh - to call off the fast and focus on giving people a political alternative. "The ongoing fast represents a voice of conscience...the political establishment has not cared to listen, leave alone to respond, to this voice," the letter of appeal to Hazare said.

Team Anna, which had succeeded, last year, in fuelling public anger against the Congressled government over a spate of corruption cases when Hazare first sat on a fast at Jantar Mantar last year, attracted fewer supporters to the venue and confronted a seemingly apathetic government this time round.

Over the past few months, it became increasingly clear that the group could not force its version of Lokpal bill by staying out of the system, with parties across the political spectrum ranged against it.

Hazare, while announcing an end to the fast, said that a political alternative would be found to the present government. "We will travel across the country for the next two years," he said.

Simultaneously, the official website of his group, India Against Corruption, put out a question, "Should Team Anna jump into politics?" Initial responses and comments on the website showed that the people supported this decision, with almost 90% polling "yes".

Even Twitter was abuzz with activity as Team Anna posted, "Should Annaji provide a political alternative to the country? Reply YES or NO to this tweet?" It also tweeted a link to an Internet page that put up two questions - "Do you have any hope from the existing political parties? Should Annaji provide a political alternative to the country?"

Although Hazare said that he would not join any political party, he said the proposal to float a party was welcome. "There is nothing wrong with forming a party...we need to provide an alternative to the people," he said.

The government, which had long accused the activists of trying to dictate terms to the democratically-elected Parliament, said Team Anna had always been "power-hungry" and must contest elections to prove its claim of representing the will of the people. "You can't hold the government to ransom. Let them participate in the political process," said information & broadcasting minister Ambika Soni.

Other parties reacted with similar nonchalance. "There are 71 parties and seven national parties. Everybody has the right to contest elections. Nobody can stop anyone from contesting polls," said Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, a spokesman of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the principal Opposition, which has taken care to show some solidarity with Hazare's campaign without backing his team's version of the legislation.

Analysts said Team Anna's decision to embrace politics may not dent the hegemony of the established parties, not least because it is not a homogenous grouping.

The anti-corruption campaign was already losing steam because the urban middleclass is not known for being part of any sustained social action, they said, besides Team Anna's seemingly shifting goalposts. Their rigid positions on issues will also constrain their ability to network with other parties, a key requirement for electoral politics, they said. Activists said they were not surprised by Team Anna's decision.

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Nikhil Dey, a member of the Mazdoor Kisan Sanghursh Samiti and a close associate of the National Advisory Council member Aruna Roy, said it has been clear from the fact that this time round Team Anna demanded the setting up of a special investigation team to probe central ministers on graft charges from the government.

If such a demand has to be made, it should be made to the Supreme Court because for the government to concede this would be tantamount to the resignation of the government, he said. "Having said that, it is not necessarily a bad thing that Team Anna has announced that they will be entering electoral politics.

It will be a challenge, to navigate the political waters, not just the question of winning elections but the entire set-up of electoral politics will be a challenge. In this scenario, I also see that the responsibility of pushing for specific provisions for a strong Lokpal will fall on some of us who occupy the advocacy space," Dey added.

Swami Agnivesh, who fell out with Team Anna in the past, also welcomed the decision to enter politics. "There is a need for a political alternative in the country, not just related to corruption but also the privatisation of resources. So I welcome the move by Team Anna to enter politics," he said.

Agnivesh, who had accused the team of fostering a personality cult in the past said that "the engagement with democratic politics will help them come to terms with democratic functioning, and perhaps may lead to a move away from personality cults."